Flight Safety Information
September 30, 2014 - No. 200
In This Issue
FAA administrator calls for safety review after fire
Japan Airlines Reports Hacker Attack
FAA says considering India safety rank review in December
American jet makes emergency landing at DFW
Deer are pests for airports, threats to pilots
Airbus Thinks Airplane Bathrooms Take Up Too Much Space.
PRISM TO HELP PREPARE FOR E-IOSA
ICAEA-ANAC-CIPE Aviation English Workshop
Project Dixon: Quant Survey for respondents from Aircraft MRO companies
ISASI 2014 - Annual Seminar, October 13-16, 2014
Upcoming Events
Employment
FAA administrator calls for safety review after fire
WASHINGTON (WUSA9/USA TODAY) -- The Federal Aviation Administration ordered a 30-day review of
safety and security at agency facilities, after a contract worker set a fire at a regional air-traffic control
center last week. That fire lead to the cancellation of 2,500 flights from Chicago. Monday, the
communications equipment outage continues to disrupt flights.
FAA Administrator Michael P. Huerta announced the agency was conducting the review Monday before the
Air Traffic Control Association in Maryland,
The review will be coordinated with two of the workers' unions, the National Air Traffic Controllers
Association and the Professional Aviation Safety Specialists, to review emergency plans. The review will
also cover security for FAA facilities "to make sure we have the most robust policies and practices in
place."
"I do understand the traveling public's frustrations with flight delays and cancellations," Huerta said. "The
air transportation system is vital to our economy and people rely on it to function 24 hours a day, seven
days a week. I want to make sure that we have the most robust contingency plans possible."
Huerta said FAA expects the Chicago center to be fully restored by Oct. 13.
http://www.wusa9.com/story/news/2014/09/29/michael-huerta-faa-investigation-aurora-il-fire-
communications-knocked-out/16425049/
Back to Top
Japan Airlines Reports Hacker Attack
Airline Says Information of Up to 750,000 Customers Possibly Stolen
Japan Airlines Co.'s airliners sitting on the tarmac at Tokyo International Airport at Haneda in Tokyo.
European Pressphoto Agency
TOKYO-Japan Airlines Co. said it has become the latest target of hackers, with the information of up to
750,000 customers possibly stolen.
The airline confirmed Monday it has found evidence of unauthorized access to its Customer Information
Management System due to a virus attack on computer terminals within its network. The personal data of
JAL Mileage Bank members are stored in the system.
The data that may have been leaked include the names, genders, birth dates, addresses, email address
and places of work of JAL's mileage program members.
The airline said there is no indication that the members' passwords or credit card numbers have been
stolen.
JAL found out about the leak as it conducted an investigation into incidents where its customer information
system responded too slowly on Sept. 19 and 22.
It said personal data of approximately 190,000 customers are suspected to have been stolen on the two
days. Of those, a maximum 21,000 pieces of data were likely to sent to "a malicious external server,"
which the company hasn't been able to identify except that it is located in Hong Kong.
JAL said the data breach may have already begun Aug. 18, which means up to information on 750,000
customers could have been leaked in the worst case scenario.
While JAL's information systems have never been hacked before, it wasn't the first time for a Japanese
airline to become the target of illegal system access.
In March, All Nippon Airways Co. 9202.TO +1.15% , JAL's domestic rival, saw 11 cases where flight
mileage credits of its customers were exchanged for gift codes for Apple Inc. AAPL -0.64% 's iTunes store
without the users' authorization. The company said that no personal data were stolen at that time, though
it hasn't determined how the incidents occurred.
"We are taking necessary measures and have blocked the ability for all computers with access to the
affected system to connect to external networks," JAL said in a statement.
"Based on findings of our investigations, we will take all possible countermeasures," it added.
http://online.wsj.com/articles/japan-airlines-reports-hacker-attack-1412053828
Back to Top
FAA says considering India safety rank review in December
FAA downgraded India's ranking in January to Category II, finding regulatory oversight inadequate.
Indian officials are prepared to discuss the safety ranking with host nation authorities during Prime
Minister Narendra Modi's ongoing US visit. Photo: Bloomberg New Delhi: Experts from the US aviation
regulator may visit India later this year to review the country's downgraded safety ranking, an official with
the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)said as Indian officials prepared to discuss the subject with
host nation authorities during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's ongoing visit to the US.
The FAA downgraded India's safety ranking in January to Category II, finding regulatory oversight to be
inadequate in a move that blocked Air India Ltd and Jet Airways (India) Ltd from expanding to US cities or
collaborating with US airlines. Clubbed with Ghana, Indonesia, Uruguay and Zimbabwe under this ranking,
India is now trying to shake off the tag. "The DGCA (India's Directorate General of Civil Aviation)
informally requested a reassessment to take place during the week of 8 December," FAA spokesperson Les
Dorr said in an email from Washington. While downgrading India, the FAA cited a lack of trained DGCA
officials, the absence of documented procedures for inducting new types of aircraft, and a shortage of
flight inspectors to monitor India's growing number of airlines.
A government official, who declined to be named, said the DGCA has requested the FAA to visit New Delhi
in the first week of December for a review. "We are fully prepared," this government official said, referring
to the steps taken by the DGCA, including the hiring of flight inspectors, over the past few months. The
DGCA will send a formal request to the FAA this week to visit India, the same official said. The DGCA has
conducted a financial audit of airlines, cracked down on errant carriers, pulled them up for training,
conducted engineering checks, and stopped operators from importing aircraft until they have checked and
satisfied all the safety norms listed by the FAA.
The Indian government official said the FAA has its budget timelines in October and Thanksgiving (27
November) and other days in November, which makes early December the best time for its officials to visit
India. The FAA had conducted its last audit at around the same time last year before downgrading the
DGCA in its January report. The FAA did not say how long it will take to inform Indian authorities of its
decision after the forthcoming December review. "We can't speculate on what the outcome will be or how
long that might take," Dorr said. A second government official, who also asked not to be named, said
Indian officials are likely to discuss the issue with US authorities during Modi's ongoing visit. A DGCA team
led by director general Prabhat Kumar was in Washington a few weeks ago to prepare for the review and
update the FAA on the work completed so far.
Air India has about 21 weekly flights between India and the US and Jet Airways seven, while other Indian
airlines fly mostly to South-East and West Asia. New airlines such as Tata-SIA Airlines Ltd's Vistara that
are hoping to fly abroad cannot fly to the US until an upgrade, even if India relaxes its rule to let only
those airlines with five years' domestic flying experience and 20 aircraft to fly abroad. They also cannot
sign commercial flying agreements with US carriers. They also have to be prepared for surprise safety
checks on their aircraft by regulatory authorities. The government needs to do much more for air safety,
including urgent establishment of a new civil aviation regulator, which has been pending for many years,
said an expert.
"What is now required is some person to look at how the DGCA is functioning and why an organization that
taught Boeing one or two lessons has gone down so much that the FAA has downgraded it," said M.R.
Sivaraman, a former director general of the DGCA, adding: "It is a pity that a technical organization has
been reduced to a shop when human safety is involved." 0 inShare 0 Comments
http://www.livemint.com/Politics/RxzxwX5BjXL0mSVsBBDlLM/FAA-says-it-is-considering-India-safety-
rank-review-in-Decem.html?utm_source=copy
Back to Top
American jet makes emergency landing at DFW
Flight 1654American Airlines Flight 1654 touched down safely at DFW International Airport
after encountering landing gear problems on September 29, 2014.
Flight 1654 took off shortly after 5 p.m. for what was scheduled to be a five-hour journey to
Baltimore
DFW AIRPORT - An American Airlines flight that left Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport bound for
Baltimore Monday afternoon returned to DFW after circling North Texas for almost three hours.
Flight 1654 - carrying 140 passengers and a crew of five - took off shortly after 5 p.m. for what was
scheduled to be a five-hour journey to the East Coast, But the aircraft never left the state after what the
airline called a "tire problem" with the landing gear.
American Airlines Flight 1654 made an emergency landing at DFW international Airport on September 29,
2014 after reporting a problem with its landing gear. WFAA
The McDonnell Douglas MD-80 twin-engine jet flew in a loop, primarily over Collin County, to burn off
excess fuel before attempting to land, according to information provided by the FlightAware website.
The jet also made one low pass over the airport so ground personnel could attempt to view the tires, the
airline said.
Emergency vehicles were in place along the runway as Flight 1654 landed without incident. Aerial images
appeared to show some problem with the plane's nose gear, but the jet came in smoothly and there were
no sparks as it touched down.
The 26-year-old plane did not attempt to taxi to a gate; it remained parked on the runway where it
stopped.
After about 15 minutes, passengers used the aircraft's rear stairway to board buses to the terminal, where
they could continue their journeys.
http://www.wfaa.com/story/news/local/2014/09/29/american-airlines-jet-returns-to-dfw-
airport/16454779/
Back to Top
Deer are pests for airports, threats to pilots
WASHINGTON - Oh, deer! Unwary motorists aren't the only ones who need to beware of the four-legged
bane of gardeners, especially at this time of the year. Pilots are also having deer encounters that rarely
end well, especially for the deer.
Soaring deer populations are nuisances for airports and threats to pilots and planes, according to aviation
and wildlife experts.
Whether driven by hunger or just crazy for love, deer will do seemingly anything to get onto airport
grounds and runways, including leaping over tall fences or squeezing under them. Once there, they like to
warm themselves by sauntering on runways, which hold heat longer than bare ground. But put a deer and
a plane together on a runway and both can have a very bad day.
From 1990 to 2013, there were 1,088 collisions between planes and deer, elk, moose and caribou,
according to a recent joint report by the Federal Aviation Administration and the Agriculture Department.
Most of the planes suffered damage and some were destroyed, the report said. One person was killed and
29 others injured. There's no mention of the fate of the deer.
The vast majority of collisions involved white-tailed deer, the smallest member of the North American deer
family, but big enough to wreck a plane.
Their population has risen from about 350,000 in 1900 to more than 28 million in 2010. They've caused
$44 million in aircraft damage and 238,000 hours of lost flying time over the past 24 years. About 30
percent of collisions occurred during the October-November mating season.
Last month in Florida, the propeller of a small plane landing at night at the Ormond Beach Municipal
Airport struck a deer, causing the plane's front landing gear to collapse, according to local police. The pilot
and three passengers were unhurt.
Airport officials and pilots in Montana said the problem is not as great here, but added it took mitigation
measures such as fences to ease the threat.
According to the FAA website wildlife.faa.gov/database.aspx, 274 incidents of aircraft vs. wildlife have
been reported in Montana since 1990. Damage did not occur in most cases, and most of the incidents
involved birds. Since 1990, eight incidents involving deer have been reported in Montana. Of those, one
was a white-tailed deer, which occurred in Stevensville in 2006. No damage was reported.
John Faulkner, director of the Great Falls International Airport, said wildlife is always an issue, but not
usually with deer. There are badgers, coyotes and bobcats to deal with as well as geese and other fowl.
"Birds are an issue at every airport," he said.
Pilot Pete Smith of Lewistown agrees.
"I don't know anyone personally who has hit a deer," he said. "A bigger concern is hitting a big bird on
takeoff."
Faulkner said the Great Falls airport has had a 6- to 7-foot fence around it for years, and the airport has a
wildlife plan to deal with animals.
"It's a definite concern," he said.
In a 2009 story in the Tribune, airport officials used banging or screeching shells to haze geese away from
the runways. They also said they strived to keep rodent populations down, making the airport less
attractive to predators that can get under the fence and on to the runway.
On Monday, Rod Hall, assistant director of operations at Great Falls, said the shells are still used.
He said the gates keep most of the wildlife out.
"For the most part, it's the birds that give us the biggest problem."
He said the Montana Air National Guard has hired a biologist through the U.S. Department of Agriculture to
do wildlife monitoring
Most collisions nationwide involve small planes, but airliners occasionally tangle with deer as well. A US
Airways jet plowed through a herd of deer shortly after landing at Charlotte Douglas International Airport
in North Carolina in October 2010. At least one deer became entangled in the plane's main landing gear
and the runway had to be closed for about 40 minutes while the mess was cleaned up.
Since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, many larger airports have built tall fences topped with barbed
wire, mostly as a security measure but also to keep deer and other wildlife out, said Richard Dolbeer, an
Agriculture Department science adviser and co-author of the report. Airports also use sharpshooters to
eliminate deer that manage to make their way under fences or through cracks, he said.
"Just an 8-inch gap and they can squeeze through," Dolbeer said.
Smaller airports that serve mainly private pilots have been slower to install deer-proof fences, he said. So
while deer collisions have dropped significantly at large airports, they're down only slightly at smaller ones.
Last year, there were 33 collisions, he said.
The College Park Airport in Maryland is a smaller airport struggling to keep deer out. It is bordered on one
side by a park and lake, and on the other by an industrial area. Nearly every day, airport employees get
into a truck, flip on the siren and charge toward deer into order to scatter them off the grounds so planes
can take off or land.
A 7-foot fence was built a few years ago along the park border, but a beaver felled a tree onto the fence
and allowed the deer back in. The airport then put up an 8-foot fence with barbed wire, but deer just
walked around the airport to the industrial park and leapt over a 6-foot fence on that side. The airport now
plans to build a taller fence there as well.
"Nature found a way," said Langston Majette, the airport's senior operations specialist.
Officials at the AAA automobile club's mid-Atlantic chapter were so impressed with the deer problem at
airports that they decided to highlight it in their annual warning this week to motorists to beware of deer.
"It is the call of the wild," AAA spokesman John Townsend II said. "This time of year the problems that
aircraft pilots face on runaways are similar to the ones that motorists encounter."
Don Newton of Lewistown, a pilot who sold his aviation business last year, said Lewistown had problems
until it built a fence about 20 years ago.
"That took care of the problem," he said.
He said Montana does a good job in handling animals through such measures as fences.
"Montana is fairly well managed on wildlife issues," he said.
http://www.greatfallstribune.com/story/news/local/2014/09/30/deer-pests-airports-threats-
pilots/16464417/
Back to Top
Airbus Thinks Airplane Bathrooms Take Up Too Much Space
Airbus (AIR:FP) thinks the cozy dimensions of its airplane bathrooms are taking up too much
space.
The lavatories on the A320, which were moved to the back of the plane in a redesign two years ago, now
take too much room away from the food-prep station. A new design for the Airbus plane shrinks the width
of one of the bathrooms, according to a report in the Los Angeles Times. The redesign isn't only about
making spaces smaller. The overhead bins will use a pivot design to create 10 percent more space, so at
least your luggage can really stretch out.
Roomier luggage bins aren't hard to imagine-Boeing (BA) has already been using the pivot-but a narrower
airplane bathroom seems improbable. Airbus did not immediately respond to an e-mail inquiry about the
dimensions of its smaller bathrooms. Let's just hope it's more forgiving than the ones Indiana Pacers' 7-
foot-2 Roy Hibbert and other flyers have suffered through.
http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2014-09-22/airbus-thinks-airplane-bathrooms-take-up-too-much-
space
Back to Top
Back to Top
ICAEA-ANAC-CIPE Aviation English Workshop
Buenos Aires, Argentina. International Civil Aviation English Association Workshop, hosted by Argentina
ANAC and CIPE. "Skills and competencies needed in aviation communications: The Latin American
Challenge." Open to anyone interested in aviation English.
Nov. 20-21, 2014.
www.icaea.aero
Back to Top
Want to make a quick 100 bucks??? Complete this 15 min online survey...
Optimal Strategix Group Inc. invites you to complete a 15 minute survey offering feedback on 3
product concepts targeted at protecting you from harmful chemicals and solvents while working on your
tasks.
Complete this survey before September 30,2014 and earn a cool $100. If you are interested, please click
on the below link -
http://survey.confirmit.com/wix/p3070608493.aspx
INTERNATIONAL SOCIETY OF AIR SAFETY INVESTIGATORS
ISASI 2014
45TH ANNUAL SEMINAR
"Investigations and Safety Management Systems"
This year's seminar will take place at the Stamford Hotel in Glenelg, near Adelaide, Australia, from 13 -16
October, 2014.
All current information regarding seminar registration, hotel reservations and speakers can be found on
the official seminar website at www.asasi.org.
Questions can be directed to:
Mr. Lindsay Naylor
ISASI 2014 Seminar Chair
lindsaynaylor77@gmail.com
or
Ms.Barbara Dunn
International Seminar Chair - ISASI
avsafe@shaw.ca
Back to Top
Upcoming Events:
ISASI 2014 - Annual Seminar
October 13-16, 2014
Adelaide, Australia
www.isasi.org
IASS 2014
Abu Dhabi, UAE
November 11-13, 2014
http://flightsafety.org/meeting/iass-2014
ERAU SMS Seminars
Daytona Beach, FL
Nov. 17-18 & 19-21, 2014
www.erau.edu/sms
ICAEA-ANAC-CIPE Aviation English Workshop.
Buenos Aires, Argentina. International Civil Aviation English Association Workshop, hosted by Argentina
ANAC and CIPE. "Skills and competencies needed in aviation communications: The Latin American
Challenge." Open to anyone interested in aviation English.
Nov. 20-21, 2014.
www.icaea.aero
ERAU UAS FUNDAMENTALS COURSE
December 9 - 11, 2014
ERAU Daytona Beach Campus, FL
www.daytonabeach.erau.edu/uas
FAA Helicopter Safety Effort
three-day safety forum
April 21-23, 2015
Hurst, Texas
eugene.trainor@faa.gov
www.faahelisafety.org
Back to Top
Employment:
Positions Available: Pilots (India)
TATA SIA Airlines Limited
pilots@airvistara.com
www.airvistara.com
Curt Lewis